Arts & Entertainment
Channeling Channing
Broadway vet Opel a formidable presence in ‘Dolly’
Nancy Opel, center, as Dolly Levi with (from left) Jp Qualters, Harris Milgrim, Kyle Vaughn and Alex Puette in the Ford’s/Signature co-production of ‘Hello, Dolly!’ (Photo by Carol Rosegg, courtesy Ford’s Theatre)
‘Hello, Dolly!’
Through May 18
Ford’s Theatre
511 Tenth Street, NW
$15-90
800-982-2787
fords.org
It feels hard to imagine the musical “Hello, Dolly!” without Carol Channing in the title role. After originating the part on Broadway in 1964 and starring in two revivals, she made the part her own.
Yet director Eric Schaeffer’s new version now playing at Ford’s Theatre puts the raspy voiced blonde out of mind almost entirely. OK, maybe once or twice, you might momentarily miss Channing’s googly eyed mugging and over-the-top entrances, but on the whole, this charm-filled production (presented by Ford’s and Signature Theatre) fares splendidly despite the absence of Channing’s star wattage.
As the ever-resourceful Dolly Gallagher Levi, Broadway veteran Nancy Opel delivers presence, an appealing voice and honed comedic skills best demonstrated when she’s happily bulldozing the bad-tempered half-millionaire Horace Vandergelder (played by an aptly grouchy Edward Gero) into a marriage he doesn’t yet know he wants. Opel’s Dolly is less loopy than Channing’s syrupy sweet yenta, but she’s definitely entertaining. Plus, her Dolly is a woman you might actually recognize.
Based on Thornton Wilder’s play “The Matchmaker,” “Hello, Dolly!” celebrates the possibility of happiness and new beginnings. It’s very American. Set in 1890s New York City and Yonkers, the musical (book by Michael Stewart; music and lyrics by Jerry Herman) follows the maneuvers of life-loving Dolly as she improves her circumstances and along the way brings a little joy to those around her. Among those benefiting from Dolly’s machinations is widowed milliner Irene Molloy (Tracy Lynn Olivera) who — with Dolly’s assistance — finds love with never-been-kissed shop clerk Cornelius Hackl played by boyish blonde actor Gregory Maheu. Olivera’s gorgeous rendition of “Ribbons Down My Back” is one of the show’s high points.
Similarly, Dolly bolsters love matches involving Irene’s young assistant Minnie Fay and Cornelius’ self-conscious co-worker Barnaby Tucker (Lauren Williams and Zack Colonna), as well as Vandergelder’s hilariously miserable niece Ermengarde (Carolyn Cole) and her artist boyfriend Ambrose (Ben Lurye).
Ford’s Hello Dolly trailer
When Jerry Herman came to Washington to receive a Helen Hayes Tribute in 2005, the famed gay composer shared that his goal has always been to make audiences happy. Herman’s score indeed does just that — filled with hummable, enduring classics like “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” “Elegance,” “Hello, Dolly!” and the stirring “Before the Parade Passes By,” it has long been an audience favorite. Herman also wrote, among others, the scores for megahits “Mame” and “La Cage Aux Folles.”
Celebrated for streamlining big musicals, Schaeffer (who is gay) has pared down his “Dolly” to a comparably small cast of 16, concentrating more on the show’s story and strong characters rather than spectacle. Adam Koch’s set is a rust-colored train station, the well-used link from Yonkers to the city and back, and though his set is spare, it’s filled with many beautiful things like Wade Laboissonniere’s gorgeous period costumes — plaid suits, bowlers, corseted slim silhouettes, outlandishly large hats — all realized in mostly muted tones; Karma Camp’s inventive, athletic choreography performed by an ensemble of graceful, top-notch dancers; the melodic strains of an on point, eight-man band led by the show’s musical director and keyboardist James Moore; and a spirited cast featuring a lot of local talent.
Earlier this year on a broadcast of “Radio 360,” comedian Sandra Bernhard talked about seeing “Hello, Dolly!” when she was a little girl. Bernhard remembered feeling she should be part of the cast. Then and there, she was ready to get on stage with Carol Channing and the show’s other bigger-than-life characters. Now it’s time for the next generation to get inspired by Ford’s “Hello, Dolly!” and join the parade.
Out & About
Rehoboth’s Aqua to celebrate 20th anniversary Sunday
Event marks culmination of Pride weekend in beach community
Aqua Bar & Grill in Rehoboth Beach will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Sunday, July 19 from 2-7 p.m. DJ Biff will entertain the crowd; there will be complimentary birthday cake and surprise guests.
The event marks the culmination of Pride weekend in Rehoboth Beach, which runs all weekend with panel discussions, parties, and more.
Books
New book reveals what we can learn from animal sex
‘Poking the Squid’ on homosexuality, gender swapping, and more
‘Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex’
By Perrin Roosevelt Ireland
c.2026, W.W. Norton
$29.99 241 pages
Birds do it.
According to Cole Porter, bees do, too, but it’s not exactly what he imagined. Wild and tame, avians, insects, and mammals all have sex – although not always as you’ve been told or for reasons you might think. Even educated fleas do it and, as in the new book, “Poking the Squid” by Perrin Roosevelt Ireland, humans can learn from them all.
If you read through scientific papers on animal reproduction, you might notice something unusual: for scientists, the word “sex” means a lot of different things.
Says Ireland, “It’s used to describe behaviors, biology, life histories, and more.”
That might be because animals are not simply binary.
Take, for instance, hyenas. It’s easy for the casual observer to mistake a male hyena for a female and vice versa because of stereotypes of anatomy. Mating, for hyenas, requires subordination for the male and a nifty trick on the part of the female’s body to get things done.
Our feathered friends are no birdbrains, either: black-browed albatrosses were once thought to be monogamous but global warming seems to have changed their nesting habits sometimes. Male flamingos have sex with one another, as a territorial thing; other birds and animals form same-sex pairs for other reasons.
The Chinese mantis eats her mate after fertilization. Female snakes, alpacas, guinea pigs, and monkeys are anatomically able to enjoy sex. Genitalia between species varies quite a bit; in fact, the vaginas of ducks “are highly complex.” Lionesses will mate up to 100 times when in heat. Female damselflies will change into a “third sex” to avoid overly aggressive mating males. Bearded dragons can change their sex, if needed, as can yellow clown goby fish. And seahorse pregnancy and birth sparked a book banning in Tennessee.
So, asks Ireland, if animals, including us, vary so much in biology and life, “… why are we using the word sex like it means something, anything, consistent?!”
Pick up “Poking the Squid,” page through it a few seconds, and you’ll see that the information here is largely told through cartoon-like drawings mixed with captions. It seems to be something on the lighter side, but don’t let that artwork fool you.
Author Perrin Roosevelt Ireland offers readers solid information that cozies up to the scholarly, with hard science, philosophy, feminism, and quotations from researchers to support it, thus furthering the narrative and hitting the points squarely. If you see the art and expect something lighthearted, comic, and small-talk-worthy, you could be disappointed.
On the other hand, if you want solid, wryly serious facts, you’re in for a treat.
There’s lots of learning to be gleaned here, and some slight nudge-wink whimsy to emphasize the absurdity of wrong-headed thinking. This can make readers feel like they’re in-the-know on the jokes, and the playfulness balances the seriousness of the information well.
So, serious, scholarly, or slightly silly, none of these are negative but you’re going to know what you want from a book like this. For the right reader, someone in the mood, “Poking the Squid” is wild.
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The eighth annual Westminster Pride Festival was held at Westminster City Park in Westminster, Md. on Saturday, July 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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